


The Dinner Bell

by WobblyPaws (orphan_account)



Category: Redwall Series - Brian Jacques
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-11 06:06:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11708364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/WobblyPaws
Summary: Constance and Basil play a game of hide and go seek with Cheek shortly after his arrival to the Abbey.





	The Dinner Bell

**Author's Note:**

> this is written by diego @wobblypaws- they didn't have an ao3 account so i'm posting it for them. this is all diego's writing!

“I've been in this abbey many seasons, and I've never had to handle a dibbun quite as unruly.” Constance pulled the drapes open and lifted them up, peering around them. With no sign of the critter, she let the drapes fall with a muffled 'thud' that briefly echoed through the dining hall, bringing with it a cloud of dust. Basil Stag Hare coughed as he approached from the table; Constance was unfazed.

“Not-a-one, eh? Never seen a little beast better at hide-and-seek. Not even littler ones, wot wot!” The hare guffawed, slowly falling back into a hacking cough from the dust.

Constance ducked under the tables. Nothing still. “He's got to learn to do his part around the abbey, now that's he's here. Not everything is fun and games.”

“Give em' some time ol' gel,” Basil's paws pattered softly as he calmly walked across the room. “Young water-rascal's been on his own most his life. Had to fend for himself. May well see these pillars and windows as trees and branches.” The hare opened a high cupboard and stuck his arm in, shuffling around it.

“Where exactly  _ did _ he come from?” The badger lifted a table clear above her shoulders with little effort, hoping to see golden-brown fur glistening against the afternoon sun.

“We're not quite there yet, mum. Only been a few days since he first pattered into Redwall alongside me. But worry not, Basil Stag Hare will pick at the little one's brain, wot wot!” Basil reached in and his paw grasped an object at the end. Constance heard the brief  _ tink tink _ of thin brass. “He'll be no more a stranger than I once was.”

Constance dusted off her paws. “You've truly grown to like this child, Basil. Who would have thought? Raising a child, at your age.”

“Raising a son.” Basil revealed the object in his paw: a small brass bell. “He reminds me of the young leveret I once was. Dare I say, we even think alike.”

With two swift movements, the dining hall rang with the  _ ting-a-ling-a-ling _ of the bell, layered with Basil's playful singsong: “Supper's ready!”

Immediately, the two heard a squeaky-hoarse voice from the rafters: “ALRIGHT!” The small otter appeared, having been fixated on who-knows-what, all the way up there.

“CHEEK! You scampering water-beast, get down from there!” Constance bellowed. Basil hopped over a table to follow Cheek; the little one's snickering filled the room before culminating with a “WHEEE!” as he slid down the drapes, sailing right between Basil's ears, and into Constance's arms. The badger cradled him gently, despite her stern expression.

“Nice catch there, mum!” Cheek giggled, then stopped midway, taking a quick sniff at the air. “Ey, I was promised supper!” He gestured at the empty tables around them.

Constance and Basil shared a smile. “He is just like you. Thinking with his stomach.”


End file.
